It's time to encourage more people to work from home.
Labour unions have never made a peep - to my knowledge - arguing for the right of workers to work from home on occasion or full time and yet its time has come.
I worked at a full-time job from my home for about seven years. In my case I'd toss on a t-shirt, fire up a coffee, start typing and phoning around to create newspaper articles. Not only did I work relentlessly hard without the distraction of other employees, but there was no hour wasted getting spiffed up or hopping on a bus. Employers could also benefit as workers would accept lower pay to work from home too.
In light of the traffic emergencies plaguing our highways this summer, the provincial legislature should hold an emergency session ordering employers to allow workers to toil from their home offices. They could offer tax breaks to employers to allow workers to do their jobs from home, or use something a bit more forceful.
One argument against working from home is that the workers don't like it because they figure they won't advance as fast in their careers as they are out of sight and out of mind. Employers would have therefore to make working at home a rotating thing that all workers do their homework equally.
And it is also said that teleworking only diminishes traffic slightly because those at home will end up getting out of the house to run other errands, going for lunch in their cars and so forth. To be eligible for a government tax grant a the worker's car must be off the road for the entire day, the plate would be put into a registry and a fine would be levelled against the worker if he hits the road on a day he's teleworking.
Labour unions have never made a peep - to my knowledge - arguing for the right of workers to work from home on occasion or full time and yet its time has come.
I worked at a full-time job from my home for about seven years. In my case I'd toss on a t-shirt, fire up a coffee, start typing and phoning around to create newspaper articles. Not only did I work relentlessly hard without the distraction of other employees, but there was no hour wasted getting spiffed up or hopping on a bus. Employers could also benefit as workers would accept lower pay to work from home too.
In light of the traffic emergencies plaguing our highways this summer, the provincial legislature should hold an emergency session ordering employers to allow workers to toil from their home offices. They could offer tax breaks to employers to allow workers to do their jobs from home, or use something a bit more forceful.
One argument against working from home is that the workers don't like it because they figure they won't advance as fast in their careers as they are out of sight and out of mind. Employers would have therefore to make working at home a rotating thing that all workers do their homework equally.
And it is also said that teleworking only diminishes traffic slightly because those at home will end up getting out of the house to run other errands, going for lunch in their cars and so forth. To be eligible for a government tax grant a the worker's car must be off the road for the entire day, the plate would be put into a registry and a fine would be levelled against the worker if he hits the road on a day he's teleworking.
What kind of help are you looking for?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, but obviously not for everyone. For example, people with small children at home will be constantly distracted from their work duties, not to mention other irritants such as noisy neighbours, the idiot contractor using their leaf-blowers (just like I'm hearing right now!),and so on.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly, being in an office solidifies a sense of purpose and work ethic. The management sees you and therefore feels more responsible to you, and vice versa, whereas working from home makes you more anonymous and therefore easily forgotten.
Workers will become even more disposable. It's a slippery slope.
Face-to-face communication should never be replaced. The old brush off, "We'll call you", became "mail me your resume", which became "fax me your resume", to today's "email me your resume", to what will surely evolve into "If you're not on Facebook I don't think I want to know you" syndrome.
Brave New World?
Marc, I was thinking some sorta system that could implement all the necessary tools, and certify workers for home-work status, ie: webcams that would allow the employer to watch the employee (as he does at work), keystroke counters, other measuring tools for productivity and ensure that the work area is relatively isolated and sound proofed.
ReplyDeleteAnd Urban Legend, I know the ideology that keeps people making these massive sacrifices of time, energy and effort but I just don't subscribe to them and they do not ring true from my personal experience. Sure there's noises and distractions at home but there's noises and distractions at work too. I have raised 4 kids and they're generally at school or some sort of camp daytime on weekdays and if not, they'll amuse themselves in front of a TV or computer.
I think the obstacle is that the management feels impotent and lonely when they don't have employees milling about, I don't think the employees would miss it one bit.
Employers can keep in very close touch with their employees at home, as I mentioned they can watch 'em on a cam, write 'em, call 'em, they can do everything they could do from home except touch them.
I don't think solidifying a work ethic really matters either, there are measurable tasks that need to be done, a worker has to make a certain number of calls, fill out a certain number of forms, sales, articles, whatever, these are measurable and management could demand the same high level of productivity from home workers.
As I said, I worked from home for years and worked very, very hard at what I did.
I think towns and cities would suffer though, as nobody would go to the food courts at lunch, or bars after work and nobody would shop the stores.
Your points are well taken.
ReplyDeleteAnother potential downside to working from home would be that employers might not want to place employees on the payroll. Instead they would become contractors with no company benefits.
I actually know people who are in this situation. Business drops due to economic downturns, and contractors are let go to fend for themselves. Only unionized employees would have some semblance of job security and even that is becoming more nebulous in these changing times.
Who would risk mortgaging a house unless they felt absolutely secure in their job? Look south of the border and see what's happening!
The next recession could well become the next depression if employees are relegated to being nothing more than a voice on the phone or an image on a webcam watched by some anonymous office supervisor whose own job may not last very long.
I have been working from home for nearly 10 years and have never really liked it. I would prefer my wife's situation of an easy fifteen minute walk to an office.
ReplyDeleteI takes a lot of discipline to be productive at home. Distractions are everywhere. Because the lines between work time / personal time are so blurry, procrastination is a constant threat.
I was the first person in my company allowed to work from home and the only employee that has been able to do it for more than a couple of months. I am under constant suspicion of goofing off not so much from my boss but from fellow employees. Because of this, I find it harder to take sick days or personal days than when I worked in an office. On weekends, I look over at my desk and feel guilty for not working.
"Working from home" is one way to describe my situation but it feels more like "living at work".
There is still a strong need for face to face contact - especially for brainstorming meetings. The creative exchange that takes place when people are in proximity of each other is quite amazing.
ReplyDeleteThat said, this kind of exchange does not happen every day. Most days the typical office worker goes about their daily task quite independently.
I manage a team of 10 people in the software business. I have no issues when my staff works from home occasionally and I do not need any surveillance. But making the leap from 1 or 2 days a week to full time work from home is not easy. I still believe in team building - and that is difficult to do across the ether.
With webcams and a constant internet connection it could work very well. It just needs a boss that's not paranoid about tech -- or one who's got a very good secretary.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
ReplyDeleteThe code du travail should be amended to require the employer to positively prove that the presence of an employee is necessary to deny the possibility of working at home.
If the boss cannot measure the productivity without watching his cattle, that boss is incompetent.
The measure could allow to require the presence to up to 2 days a week, however, for meat-space meetings and whatnot.
During the last 10 years, 5 of them were worked at home.
Another alternative would be to institute mandatory flexible hours, under the same requirement criterion to set the allowable hours.
Paris had to do that, because the transportation situation was becoming untenable in the 1980’s (imagine cramming 3 million people living and a further 4 in the area occupied by LaSalle, Verdun, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. That’s Paris for you — and just Paris, not the ’burbs!!! — that’s not for nothing that they cram 18 subway lines in that area!!!).